The Martin Luther King Jr. exhibit in the Tarlton Law Library holds a special meaning for law professor Roy Mersky, who participated with King in the Selma March of 1965.
The march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, Ala., was a demonstration by activists, who faced violent opposition, to help blacks secure their right to vote. Mersky said he felt both "fear and pride" as he marched.
"I marched for the same reason why I fought in World War II as a soldier - to fight oppression," said Mersky, who served in Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army and earned a Bronze Star.
The Tarlton Law Library opened a series of exhibits Monday displaying the progression of the civil rights movement, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 to King's death in 1968, as well as the history of integration on campus.
The "Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement" exhibit features reproductions of photos important to the movement and important historical documents, such as newspaper clippings from the era. People stopped Monday afternoon and looked pensively at King's famous words, located at the beginning of the exhibit: "I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident - that all men are created equal.'"
King changed the civil rights movement through nonviolent protest, said Mersky, law school librarian.
"No person has made more of an impact and a change to our society than Martin Luther King Jr.," Mersky said. "He not only fought for and brought about civil rights, but he also started a peaceful revolution that has resulted in legislation and change for women and working people. We wanted to commemorate him. You can forget too soon their struggles."
Another exhibit highlights the challenges faced by the first black UT students who fought for integration. "Blacks, Whites and Burnt Orange: Integration of The University of Texas" displayed reproductions of Daily Texan newspaper clippings from the time black students first came to the University, documents written by administrators urging integration and photos of the protests that occurred on campus and the Drag. Another exhibit displayed the stories of Heman Marion Sweatt, Virgil C. Lott and Gloria K. Bradford, the first black students to enroll in the UT School of Law.
Addy Sonder, assistant archivist of rare books and special collections who coordinated the materials presented, said that graduate students were integrated before undergraduate students. Black graduate students were allowed to enroll in 1950, while undergraduate students achieved the same status in 1956, she said.
Looking at the photos and documents, Sonder said, "It's amazing to see how far we've come."
The King exhibit stays up until Feb. 22, and the integration exhibit is open until Feb. 27. Both are in the Susman Godfrey Atrium in Townes Hall and are free to the public.
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